Doubles Take: Recapping the Australian Open

The year’s first major is in the books. Doubles Take looks back at the winners in Melbourne and previews the week ahead.

THE HOMETOWN HERO

Back in 2005, Samantha Stosur captured the mixed doubles title at her home Slam with her countryman, Scott Draper, and a year later, she was a finalist in women’s doubles with Lisa Raymond. In 2011, she won the singles crown at the US Open.

In the years since, the 34-year-old has experienced multiple disappointments in both singles and doubles. Those seasons of frustration in Melbourne are surely a thing of the past now after this year’s tournament.

Stosur and her partner Shuai Zhang defeated defending champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic to win their first major together. It’s their second title in three events dating back to last year, with their only loss coming in the semifinals of the US Open.

HISTORY IS MADE

Prior to their championship match, Henri Kontinen and John Peers had accomplished something their opponents Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut had yet to do: win an Australian Open title. It was the only Slam missing from the Frenchmen’s collection, but now, they can boast of having a complete set.

Herbert and Mahut wrapped up a strong two weeks by winning their fourth major together and completing the career Grand Slam. They become the eighth team in the history of the men’s game to do so while bringing a halt to Kontinen and Peers’ winning streak in finals at 10.

AT LAST, A SLAM CHAMPION

Doubles standout Rajeev Ram finished 2018 on a high with two titles in the fall. That good form evidently carried over to Melbourne and the mixed doubles—and it helped to have one of the best players in the women’s game on his side.

Ram and Barbora Krejcikova—a two-time Slam winner last year—held off the Aussie upstarts John-Patrick Smith and Astra Sharma in the final. For Ram, it’s his first career major title.

A LOOK AHEAD

The WTA is back in regular-season mode with two events on the calendar. In St. Petersburg, veterans Raquel Atawo and Katarina Srebotnik are the top seeds. There’s already been a notable upset as Lara Arruabarrena and Alexandra Panova knocked off the No. 2 seeds, Mladenovic and Galina Voskoboeva.

Hua Hin returns to the schedule, this time upgraded from $125,000 status to an International event. The top seeds are Miyu Kato and Makoto Ninomiya, who reached back-to-back finals in Asia in September. Romanians Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu headline the bottom half of the draw.

The men will be preparing for the revamped version of the Davis Cup, with eight qualifying matches being contested over the weekend.

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